Appalachian State fans and supporters can reach out to Director of Athletics
Doug Gillin each month with questions regarding Appalachian State Athletics. Please submit questions via email at
AskTheAD@appstate.edu.
SEPTEMBER 2019 – ASK THE A.D.
How is the music for home football games determined?
The athletic department scripts out game day music with input from various groups.
We are aware how important the traditions are to our fans who have made the game day experience at The Rock so special for years and years. Bugler's Dream will be played at our remaining home games this season, so I can't wait to see our crowd point toward the end zone when the song comes on.
I reached out recently to Dr. Jay Jackson, Associate Dean of the Hayes School of Music and former Director of the Marching Mountaineers, and Dr. Jason Gardner, the new director of the Marching Mountaineers, to gather more info on how the Marching Mountaineers determine their playlist during games:
Dr. Jay Jackson:
"Music that is played in the stands during the game is music that is spirited in nature, recognizable from pop/rock tunes and through past decades or present, movie melodies, popular tunes that are played by bands across the nation and tunes that have become part of our traditions over the years, like Bugler's Dream (the theme from the Olympiad).
"The Marching Mountaineers are rounding into shape with the 2019 playlist. Given our resources compared to other peer bands and how we utilize them, it's quite amazing what our student-musicians accomplish.
"Dr. Jason Gardner is our new director of the Marching Mountaineers this year. Jason, his graduate assistants and student leadership have done a terrific job in having the band as prepared as they have, especially given when their band camp began, the immediacy of the first home game in late August and starting the season with back-to-back home games.
"Having the bye week was a help to further develop their shows and build up the 2019 playlist. It will be more expansive this week as the band has had time to rehearse tunes not played until now."
Dr. Jason Gardner
"In much the same way a coach will spend the offseason developing a playbook and system before football camp, the marching band director programs music to be played throughout the season during the spring and summer months leading into band camp.
"Music is arranged and/or purchased well before it is ever rehearsed. The marching band director takes into consideration such things as the strengths and weaknesses of various sections in the ensemble, special announced themes at home games or anniversaries unique to the university, team, or music world, among other things.
"Often times, music from early halftime shows, which tend to be more pop and rock selections, turn into stands tunes later in the season and throughout the basketball season."
Will there be any changes made to help with fan traffic for the remaining home games?
First off, I want to say thank you for the incredible crowds we had the first two weeks. To have more than 25,000 fans at the opener and nearly 30,000 fans at the White Out, it was awesome to look around the stadium and see it so packed.
Looking forward to Saturday's sold-out game for Family Weekend, there are plans to help us improve the pedestrian walkways near the stadium, and there are also plans to increase the number of Express lanes at the West gate for fans without bags. If you have a ticket to sit on the East side, entering the stadium through the East gate will save you time.
We appreciate your patience while construction is going on and encourage everyone to arrive early to The Rock and stay late. The biggest lines have formed closest to kickoff, and we are opening the gates two hours in advance this year to give you more options to get into the stadium easily.
Why don't we see Yosef on uniforms? He is our mascot, secondary logo?
The block "A" is our primary mark, so that will appear on our uniforms a vast majority of the time, but there are ways to selectively incorporate the Yosef logo when appropriate, so stay tuned for news on that front.
